At least 16 security personnel were killed and eight injured in an early morning attack by suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan’s northwest region, police said.
The attack on a security post in the South Waziristan region began at around 2am and involved light and heavy weapons, according to police deputy superintendent Hidayat Ullah.
“A search operation is under way in the area,” he said.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, reporting a significantly higher death toll of 35 security personnel and 15 injured in a statement shared on a WhatsApp channel.
The group did not disclose whether any of its fighters were killed.
An umbrella group of Sunni Islamist militant factions, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, seeks to overthrow the Pakistani government and establish strict Islamic rule. It has intensified attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months.
Although separate from the Afghan Taliban, the group pledges allegiance to the Islamist rulers of Afghanistan, who took power after forcing Western forces led by the US to leave the country in 2021.
